The Broomstick Between Them
by Jaizar
Summary: Take one James Potter, captain of Quidditch team, and irresponsible Head Boy. Add one Lily EVans, dedicated Head Girl, hell bent on getting revenge on James for his shirking of duties. Sprinkle in a Quidditch trials, and wait for explosions to occur.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: everything belongs to JK Rowling, except for characters and events unrecognizable as being part of the Harry Potter series.

A/N: hey everyone! Wow, here I am with a new fic, already! Well, this one is once again, different form Changing Rooms and Lets Play Families. The relationships between the characters are different, back to the good old competitive, love/hate Lily/James thing. I love that. D so, read, review, and enjoy!

Chapter One

Up, Up and Away…

James was feeling good. Slightly harassed, but good all the same. The sun was shining, the air was crisp and clean, and he had a broomstick in his hand. What more could a guy ask for?

Not only that, though. James had been elected Head Boy of Hogwarts, and the Griffindor Quidditch captain, and he was acing all his subjects. Really, his life was perfect in every way. Well, almost everyway. But, minor flaws hardly counted, right?

No, it was time to turn his attentions to more important things. Like the Quidditch trials that were about to take place. James squinted and looked up at the sky. Clear blue stretched out above him. The ground was firm too- perfect conditions.

A sound behind him caught his attention.

"Sirius, let me go! I have no desire to play Quidditch, and I never will," a slightly exasperated voice reached James' ears. With a grin, he turned to face his oncoming friends.

A tall, handsome, black-haired boy was half pulling, half dragging a shorter, rounder, blonde boy towards him.

"Shut up, Peter, this'll be good for you! Lose some of that puppy fat, at least, eh?" Sirius Black grinned.

Behind them, approaching at a more sedate pace was a lean, somber looking youth, his ash blonde hair falling casually into his eyes. Remus Lupin had never been one to join in with his friend's tomfoolery.

"Hey guys," James said, lifting a hand to shield his eyes from the sun. His own black hair was tousled, but not from any wind- it was simply like that. Thin, wire-framed glasses hid his eyes, and he was at least as tall as Sirius. "Come to see the fun?"

"Something like that," Remus said, half smiling.

"Peter's going to try out for Keeper, aren't you Wormtail?" Sirius said, punching the shorter boy good-naturedly and almost knocking him off his feet.

"No, I am not!" Peter said, his voice rising to a squeak.

James, by now, had turned back to regard the line of red-clad students lining up for the trials. He was too far to see anyone's faces, but he figured they were getting impatient.

"Time to get this show on the road,' he said, beginning to walk over to them.

"Who do you think is going to make it?" Remus asked conversationally as they walked.

"Probably Gretel, Alice and Maria from last year as Chasers," James said. "But I'm hoping for some new blood in the Beaters and Keeper positions."

Sirius nodded sagely, listening in.

"Plenty of new blood there," he said, tipping his head in the direction of the long line of students. "In fact, I think I dated a few of them."

"Sirius, you date everyone," Peter pointed out.

Sirius grinned.

"True that," he murmured. They walked on in silence, and then- "Whoa…don't look now Prongs, but I think you're in for a surprise."

"Wha-?" James began, but suddenly, his breath ran out. He stared at the students in front of him, not really seeing them at all. His eyes were focused on only one out of the many.

She was rather short. So short, in fact, that the red robes she wore pooled about her feet, and clashed horribly with her fiery red hair, that was pulled away from her face in a tight ponytail. Her green eyes were trained on his, a look of determination in them that was almost frightening. And even now, on the Quidditch pitch, he could see the Head Girl badge pinned proudly to her chest.

Lily Evans. James' archenemy. The one girl who could make him so angry that he actually ceased talking. The one girl who could actually make him doubt his own brilliance. The one girl who could make him lose his thoughts in the middle of an argument. The one girl who he hated like none other.

There was nothing else for it. James swore profusely and loudly, running a hand through his already messy hair and stamping a foot.

"Very mature, Potter," Lily said, rolling her eyes. "No need to look so alarmed."

"What the hell are you doing here, Evans?" James spat. His friends had all backed away to a safe distance.

The other Griffindors were watching with trepidation. Lily and James' fights were something of a legend in Hogwarts. They usually resulted in either physical violence or interesting wand fights.

"Trying out for the team, duh," Lily said, rolling her eyes. "What does it look like?"

James scoffed, looking her sneeringly up and down.

"Do you really want me to answer that?"

Lily glared at him, and then deliberately raised her watch hand up and glanced at the face calmly.

"Great captain, you are. Arrive late, harass a candidate…anything you don't do?"

James returned her glare, and then turned pointedly away.

"Ok, guys, we'll start with the Chasers. Can I get all people trying out for that position over here, please?" he called, moving away form Lily and organizing the students into groups.

He would get through these trials. He would have the best team ever. And Lily Evans would _not _be on it.

Lily glared after James' retreating back. Spineless twerp. She hated him with everything in her.

He was arrogant, stupid (ok, so he was actually quite intelligent- so what?), too good looking, and…arrogant.

Reasonable-Lily knew that there were really not that many reasons to hate James Potter. But his manner drove her insane, so that she became man-hater-Lily- not a nice sight.

And this year, being appointed as Head Girl with him as Head Boy- well, it definitely pushed her over the brink. It was only week four, and already James was shirking most of his duties and refusing to work well with her. He hadn't written any of his reports, and whenever they took the first years for the compulsory afternoon activities, he distracted them from their lesson with stupid pranks and games.

Didn't he have a singular scrap of maturity in that six foot, annoyingly well-built body of his?

So this was her revenge. See, Lily had realized that if she was really going to get Potter, she had to hit him where it hurt. And what did Potter love more than Quidditch? Lily was going to get on that team, if it was the last thing she did. And then, she was going to make James' life hell. Heck- he did it to her all the time. This would be a little pay back, and a little fun, with some exercise thrown into the bargain.

Getting onto the team would be no trouble. She was a pretty good Keeper. Being best friends with two, overgrown teenage wizards was no joke. And Kin and Matthew, her fellow seventh years and favorite people in the whole world, had taught her a thing or two…

So far, so good, James thought, smiling slightly with satisfaction. The Chasers were (predictably) the same as last year- the three sixth years girls he had told Sirius would get in. He was happy with that, he had been playing with those three since they had joined the team in his fourth year, and none of the other candidates could really compare to their skill.

The two Beaters had been happily selected, a couple of hardheaded fourth years, Grant and Adrian. Only the Keeper left.

James turned to survey the remaining hopefuls in front of him. There were only four of them, three boys, and one girl. Lily Evans. Damn. He had thought she would have gone by now.

He nodded at the first guy in the line, a rather tiny and scrawny third year, who immediately shot up into the air.

The Chasers were waiting. The idea was, that five goals would be shot, and whoever out of the candidates saved the most, would get the position. The guy had no hope. Out of the five, he saved two, one by accident, as he swung his arms around wildly and managed to hit it with his broom handle that was swinging with all his movements.

James sighed and rubbed his temples. He hoped one of the other guys was better; otherwise he would be forced to take on Lily. He turned to regard them again.

The two guys seemed familiar. They were in seventh years with him. He frowned a little. They were talking to Lily, making her laugh. They didn't seem too competitive.

"Oi, you two," he called. "Are you trying out or what?"

They looked up. James recognized them as Matthew and Kin, Lily's friends. They grinned.

"Nah, mate, just keeping Lils company," they said cheerfully, shuffling away to lounge on the sidelines, giving Lily the thumbs up.

James rolled his eyes.

"Well, _Lils_, you're up."

"What's the point, Potter?' she said, raising an eyebrow. "You don't have any other option."

"What, you think we'll let you onto the team untested?" James scoffed. "You have to save at least three quaffles."

Lily rolled her eyes, but mounted her broom nonetheless. He was bluffing, for sure. And besides, she knew she could do it. Still, her heart was beating a little faster than usual as she flew up into the air.

As soon as she was even near the goals, Gretel shot a quaffle hard and fast towards her. It looped speedily through the air, zooming towards the middle hoop. With surprising agility, and without thinking twice, Lily sped up towards the hoop and swatted it away with her broom tail. Immediately, Alice threw another quaffle, at the same time as Gretel unleashed her second missile. Lily managed to thwack one away from the last hoop, but the other sailed merrily into the middle hoop. She swore and zoomed closer to the goals.

Maria flew up to her, facing her from a meter away.

"Hey Lily," she said mildly.

"Hi," Lily said, not taking her eyes off the quaffle the Chaser held.

"You're pretty good," Maria continued, suddenly releasing the quaffle straight at the first hoop.

Lily immediately swung out an arm, catching it by her fingertips just as it neared the rim of the hoop, and flinging it far away from her.

"In fact, you're really good," Maria commented. She now held another quaffle. She looked at Lily appraisingly for a moment longer, and then, just as suddenly as before, flung the quaffle in a far loop, so that it seemed as though it would miss the last hoop. At the last moment, it curved and flew directly into the goals. Lily swore again. Damn- she had been so close, too. Still, she had made the team. There was no way Potter could kick he rout now.

"Three out of five isn't bad," Maria grinned. "And, after all, we are the best."

"Welcome to the team," Alice said, smiling warmly. "Nice to have some new blood."

Lily grinned back, as they flew back to the ground together, Gretel rounding up the quaffles as she went.

James did not look happy. His face was like thunder as they landed, and he had his fists clenched by his side. Lily grinned. If this wasn't a reward for her commendable flying, she didn't know what was.

"Aw, Potter," she said, her smile twisting to become a smirk. "Don't look so upset. I won't steal your crown."

James glared at her, and then grunted inaudibly. Lily supposed that was his way of saying, "Gee, Lily, you sure fly well. Welcome to the team, you're the Keeper of my dreams." Or not.

Matthew and Kin had jogged over, and now they each slung an arm around her, grinning and joking.

"You rock, Lils," Kin stated, lifting his other hand to gesture at the sky. "Behold your new domain."

"A girl of many talents, our Lily,' Matthew added. "If only you weren't like a sister to me. I'd love to go out with a celebrity."

Lily punched him lightly on his shoulder, but grinned. She loved these guys. At the very least, they were a notch better than James and his stupid Marauders.

She would show them. James would soon learn that Lily Evans was not going to let him walk all over her. And the terms for a truce? If he started doing his share as Head Boy, she would quit making his life hell. Lily took her duties seriously. And James was the annoying burr on the saddle at this point. Nothing that couldn't be rectified though.

Lily half smiled as she watched his retreating figure, a few meters ahead of them. No, nothing too much for Lily to handle.

A/N: so, what do you think? let me know, and if I get 15 reviews, I'll update by the end of next week, promise D let me know if you still have any questions about 'Lets Play Families' as well, and I'll answer them D

Review!

JB


	2. Excuse me, but are you stalking me?

Disclaimer: everything belongs to JK Rowling, except for characters and events unrecognizable as being part of the Harry Potter series.

A/N: hey everyone! Thanx for the awesome reviews, I loved them, as usual D. a special thanx to **Fluttering Flutterby**, because your review was very sweet, and made me smile. Everyone else was awesome too, you all rock.

Alright, here's the next chapter, and I hope you like it. I love writing these two when the hate each other D

Chapter Two 

**Excuse me, but are you stalking me?**

Lily Evans was on a mission- and James Potter was following her.

It had all started that morning, when news had gotten out that Lily had made the Quidditch team. No one could believe it, and rightly so. Lily had never shown even the mildest interest in the sport before, and everyone knew that whenever she and James were together, sparks were sure to fly. The amount of nudges, whistles and comments she had received were beginning to wear at Lily's patience. And not all of them were good comments either- a lot of students had told her that if she wasn't a good player, and cost Griffindor the cup, she would have them to answer to. Gosh, her classmates sure were supportive.

So, seeing as she knew very little about the history and logistics of the game (and Lily always liked to have background information on everything she was part of), she had set out that morning to the Library, bent on getting as much research done as possible.

It was only when she was halfway there that she noticed she was being followed. She could hear padding footsteps behind her, that seems to slow down and quicken as her own pace it.

Her first thought was that it was Kin or Matthew, playing a prank on her. The two boys treated her like a little sister, and whilst that was good most of the time, they also liked to annoy her like they would a sibling.

She spun around to give them a piece of her mind…and saw James Potter, who had quickly spun around to inspect a painting on the wall. His eyes were darting about, and he was almost jogging on the spot from agitation, so it was obvious he wasn't actually browsing the schools art collection.

Lily rolled her eyes and kept walking. Let him follow her. She didn't care if he didn't have anything better to do.

And follow her he did- all the way to the library, and even then through all the shelves she browsed. Doubtless, James probably thought he was being extremely stealthy, following five steps behind Lily and pretending to be reading a book whenever she turned his way. Lily rolled her eyes. Amateur.

She ignored him and continued searching for books on Quidditch. So far the only one she had found that was even remotely helpful, was _Quidditch through the Ages_, so it was armed with this book that she left the library.

The common room was fairly empty when she entered it, her head beginning to ache. That's how she felt whenever James was in her general vicinity. Like she was about to keel over from a migraine.

Kin and Matthew were seated near the open window (it was still quite warm), playing muggle naughts and crosses.

"Ha!" Matthew, the more boisterous of the pair slammed a hand down on the piece of parchment in front of them. "I win again! Dude, you really suck at this."

Kin rolled his eyes. "Whatever, man." He slumped back in his chair, a half smile tilting he corner of his mouth. Soft blonde hair fell over his ears and almost obscured his grey eyes. Kin was lean and quiet. He remained indifferent with everyone but Lily and Matthew.

The latter, however, was quite the opposite. Matthew, cute and bubbly, with brown curly hair and green eyes, was friends with practically everyone, form three of the four houses. No one could really be a friend with a Slytherin. Lily often noted drily on the fact that he was exceptionally friendly with members of the opposite sex, but Matthew denied this with wide-eyed innocence.

Lily loved her two friends. They were like the brothers she had never had (clichéd though that may sound). Although she still had girlfriends, mainly consisting of her dorm mates, Matthew and Kin were really all that she needed in the way of companionship.

"Uh, Lily," Matthew said, breaking through her reverie. "Were you aware that you have acquired a tail?"

"Huh?" Lily said, raising an eyebrow in alarm. Matthew indicated behind her with a tilt of his head. She turned around and saw James regarding her form a chair not far from them. "Oh, him. Yeah, he keeps following me. I don't really care, I mean, if he wants to waste his time, so be it."

"What's he following you for?" Kin murmured, his eyes shut, and looking as though he was about to fall asleep.

"No idea," Lily said honestly.

Just then, James got up, and began walking towards them. Lily spun around to face away form him.

"Tell me he's not walking over here," she whispered, screwing her eyes shut. She was in no mood for a confrontation, and she still hadn't spoken to him since making the team. Really, she didn't mind him following her so long as he made no attempt to speak to her.

"He's not walking over here," Matthew obliged.

Lily sighed in relief and turned around…to almost slam into James Potter. She shot Matthew and accusing glare.

"What? You asked me to tell you…" he said, trailing off when James stared at him coolly. James was kind of scary sometimes. And now was one of those times.

"What do you want, Potter?" Lily asked resignedly.

"I could ask you the same thing," James said, quietly. This was odd. Usually James was loud, and passionate, and fiery tempered…quite like Lily, actually. "Why did you join the Quidditch team?"

"Do I have to have an ulterior motive?" Lily shot back. "Why can't I just join the team because I like Quidditch?"

"Because you didn't," James said, rolling his eyes a little. "What do you want? Because I will not let you stuff up the team, got it?"

"Oh, right. So when it comes to Quidditch, _I_ can't do anything wrong. But when it comes to your duties as Head Boy, you don't mind shirking at all, do you?" Lily said angrily. "Well, not anymore. What I _want_ Potter, is for you to buck up and do our work. And here's the thing- you don't start pulling your weight? I will make your life hell. On the Quidditch pitch."

James raised an eyebrow, almost looking amused.

"What's the worst you can do, Evans?"

"Oh, don't try me, Potter. You don't want to see my worst."

James looked slightly wary. Lily smirked. She had him.

A/N: ok, sorry for the tiny chapter, but I wanted to post, so I rushed a little. Hope you were happy with the descriptions of Lily's friends, and I promise we'll have more of the Marauders in the next chapter. Ten more reviews, and I'll update, ok?

Review!

JB


	3. Head Girl on a Broomstick

A/N: right…wtf? What was with that scary underline thing? Sorry, heres the chapter again, _without_ the odd lines and stuff. Geez…I am so bad with technology!

Chapter Three

Who Said Head Girls Can't like Quidditch?

James was officially, severely put out. _No one_ spoke to him the way Lily had the previous afternoon. And he didn't take kindly to being put in his place. In fact, he really hated it, especially when it involved Lily Evans.

Lily had been a source of both amusement and rage since first year. They simply clashed. Maybe, James' best friends often mused, it was because they were both so similar; they were both a tad arrogant, extremely stubborn, and very bright. A sure recipe for disaster. And when it came to Lily and James, disasters were definitely on the menu- all the time.

But this time, James was determined things were going to go his way. There was no way he was going to let Lily intimidate him. Besides, as if she _could_ intimidate him. She was hardly even half his height, and lacking somewhat in the buff department. She was like a caterpillar compared to his centipede. Yeah, James thought, smiling smugly. He would squash her like a bug. Only, you know, not literally. Because he didn't want to physically harm Lily. James was no girl basher, he hadn't lifted a hand on a girl all of his life. But _metaphorically_, Lily was dead bug meat.

SSSSSSSSSSS

If there was one class in the entire educational kingdom that Lily sincerely hated, it would have to be transfiguration. Yep, that was it. Not Arithmancy, or Potions, or anything like that. Nope, just Transfiguration. A class that she did exceptionally well in, in fact. Lily got brilliant grades in all of her classes; she was the top charms and Potions student, and only lost that position in DADA to James, because he was more 'into it' according to her friends.

No, the reason Lily hated Transfiguration had nothing to do with her performance or understanding. It had more to do with her wands partner. She had _real_ issues with her wand partner; in fact, he was so frustrating, she often wanted to transform him into a frog and then dissect him.

Any idea who it could be? James Potter, right? Actually, no, that would be incorrect. But he was the next best thing. Because Lily was partnered with Sirius Black, the most irresponsible, immature, irritating and kind of charming (Lily had to admit), boy there was.

That morning in particular, Black was being extremely annoying. And Lily was already irritated. It was the morning after her confrontation with James, and she had been plagued the whole night with dreams depicting Gryffindor losing the Quidditch cup and everyone blaming her for it.

Then she had washed her hair that morning only to find that the air was getting quite chilly and it wouldn't dry. So there she was, first period Transfiguration, sitting next to Sirius Black, her wet hair dripping down her back and a bowl of black beetles in front of her.

They were meant to be transforming the beetles into a bowl of cherries, but so far, they weren't having much luck. Every time Lily went to say the incantation, Sirius would jump in with a spell of his own, which would usually either kill a few bugs, or else cause other mishaps, such as setting Lily's sleeve on fire.

Each time this occurred he would wink, grin, and say:

"Sorry, Lils. Must have been the wrong spell."

Lily felt like screaming at him, that maybe if he looked at the blackboard he would see what the right spell was and they could work from there. But every time she opened her mouth, he'd turn around and talk to someone else for a while. He was almost as infuriating as James. _Almost._

Finally, Lily waited until his back was turned, muttered the incantation, easily turning the beetles into cherries, and then sat back to relax for the rest of the lesson.

Black turned back to her.

"Wow! Way to go, Lily, you did it! I knew you'd pull through!" he exclaimed, clapping her on the back and almost causing her to dislocate a shoulder.

She glared at him silently, and then rolled her eyes.

"Next time, I'm going to tell the Professor that you didn't help," she muttered. "I've had enough of doing your work all the time, and if you don't want to pay attention in class-"

"Evans," a sever sounding voice snapped from behind her. Lily spun around to face… James Potter.

"What?" she barked back, still angry from her tirade against Black.

James regarded her silently for a few moments. Then-

"Quidditch practice. Five o'clock tonight… Out on the pitch," he added as an afterthought.

"Well, duh," Lily muttered as he walked away, leaving her feeling slightly stupid. She always expected James to be attacking her whenever he said anything to her. She turned back to the front to see Sirius smiling sympathetically at her.

"Never mind my friend there," he said, patting her shoulder. "He's articulately challenged."

Lily was about to roll her eyes again and then changed her mind. He wasn't a bad guy, Black. Just _really_ annoying. So she managed a weak smile.

He grinned back. So it was kind of worth it. Hell, even Lily could admit that Sirius was hot!

SSSSSS

James trudged onto the Quidditch pitch after dinner that night with a decisive air of resignation. He found it quite depressing that one person could transform his love of Quidditch into a kind of reluctant motivation.

As he dragged the crate of balls out of the change rooms, he thought about Lily. She was so frustrating! And, though he hated to admit it, kind of scary. Her threat yesterday had really frightened him. He _really_ wanted to win the Cup this year. In fact, he was counting on it- he had a good team, and he was a brilliant Captain. But if Lily stuffed up, that was it. No Cup for James. No victory, no glory, no girls, nothing. And it would all be because of Lily Evans, who seemingly enjoyed making his life hell.

And ok, so James could admit that he was a bit of a slacker when it came to his Head Boy duties. As in, he never wrote his reports, led all the first years astray, played pranks on Lily on the job, and hardly ever showed up for meetings with teachers. But, hey, he was a busy guy! And he didn't exactly enjoy spending time with Lily Evans. Sure, she was cute. Very cute, in fact. But she was a cold, hard, b-…you get the point.

James shook his head to clear his thoughts. There was no point in getting all worked up about Evans. There was nothing he could do about the situation at present. But as soon as an opportunity arose, he was going to boot her out of the team. As soon as possible.

SSSSSSSSS

By the time Lily made it out onto the pitch for training, all the other players were there. Her robes were finally the right size for her vertically challenged body, and her broomstick (a comet three sixty) was top of the line. She was feeling good.

Unfortunately, James wasn't feeling so god.

"You're late," he shouted at her, as soon as she was within hearing vicinity. "You're already letting the whole team down!"

It was true, the other players were already in the air, and the Chasers were having a hard time practicing without the Keeper in place, but it wasn't that big a deal, and she was only a few minutes late.

Still, she could hardly fight with the captain at the first practice.

"Sorry," She muttered, mounting her broom and immediately whizzing into the air.

James gave an exasperated sigh and followed suit.

Once at the goal hoops, Lily began to circle lazily, warming up. The sun was just setting, but James had lit the magical lights all around the pitch, so she could see everything around her. The stands looked worn down, when empty like this. Old banners and placards lay here and there on the benches, and the Hufflepuff house sign was half torn down. Lily sighed. She would have to talk to Dumbledore about getting something done about that.

"Hey Evans!" she turned at the sound of Gretel calling her name. "Catch this!"

She pegged a Quaffle towards the third hoop. It was obvious that Lily should have flown immediately towards the hoop to stop the ball from scoring, but instinct made her stay where she was, in front of the middle hoop. Sure enough, the ball sped towards the third hoop, and then at the last moment began to arc towards the middle. Lily sped forwards a few meters and easily saved it. She threw it back at Gretel, who had both her eyebrows raised, but was grinning.

"Good save," she called, giving her the thumbs up. "You got instinct, girl!"

Lily grinned. It was strange, but that had felt so natural. Flying felt natural, but saving goals, speeding between the hoops? That felt more than natural. It felt like second nature- a sixth sense. She shook her head slightly. Who was she kidding? She wasn't even that good at Quidditch, now she thought she was some sort of star player? Whatever.

But as the practice progressed, and she saved more and more goals (not all of them, but definitely most) Lily realized that she really did have talent. Not a spectacular amount, but more than average. It made her feel good. Lily was a very high achiever academically, but she had never tried any sporting forms of recreation. She couldn't be good at everything, was her philosophy.

About halfway through the warm up, Lily noticed James' eyes on her. She looked up questioningly, but he immediately looked away. She shrugged. She didn't care if he wanted to be immature. She was here to practice, and that was it.

"Right, guys, lets try a drill!" he called out to them. The beaters, who had been practicing hitting a bludger between them, sped over to join the rest of the team near the goals.

"I want the Chasers on this end of the pitch," James indicated towards himself. "Can the Beaters please move about five metres that way, and hover opposite each other, about three metres apart? And I want you guys to hit the bludgers to each other, hard and fast. Lily, get up near the goals."

The team members obliged, Grant and Adrian (the Beaters) beginning to bash the Bludgers between them, starting slow, and then building up the pace.

"Right," James said, flying in between the Chasers and the goals, but keeping away from the flying bludgers. "The object is for the Chasers to get the quaffle, dodge the bludgers and score a goal. But you're only allowed two passes, and there is a time limit of 30 seconds each time. Ready? Lets go."

Immediately, Gretel and Alice whizzed forwards. They easily dodged the two bludgers, and were on their way to the goals. Lily started circling a bit faster, her pulse racing. She loved the thrill she got form the competition. Maria flew into the fray, and Gretel passed the quaffle to her easily. Lining up, and hovering a short distance form the goals, she paused. Then she grinned and shot.

Lily swerved quickly to the right, aiming to intercept the ball before it reached the middle hoop. She dove, she missed, and the ball sailed through.

"Faster, Lily!" James barked. "I want to see more effort!"

Lily gritted her teeth. That was unfair. She had been trying hard all practice- just because he hadn't been watching wasn't her fault.

The next time Gretel made it through to the goals, Lily was ready. Just as the quaffle left her fingertips, Lily sped forward and thwacked it out of the way with her broomtail.

Take that, Potter, she thought rather vindictively.

The particle went on until seven o'clock, by which time it was well and truly dark, and there was no point continuing. Lily left the pitch feeling both tired and satisfied. In the change rooms, Gretel and Alice were talking excitedly about their prospects for the Cup, and Lily remembered about her threat the day before. She was slightly regretting that now. Somehow, she knew that stuffing up a Quidditch game wasn't going to be as easy as she had though. For one thing, she happened to enjoy playing Keeper. For a second thing, Lily was incredibly competitive, and hated losing anything. And lastly, she was very loyal- she hated the thought of 'letting the team down'.

As she trudged back up to the castle, Lily sighed. This blackmail thing was no piece of cake.

SSSSS

A/N: I can see glares all the way form here D ok, ok, I'll have more lily and James action soon, I promise. In the meantime, REVIEW! And tell me if this chapter was any good. Also, what do you guys think of her best friends (although you didn't see them in this chapter)?

Thanks to:

**check6**: thanks for the review, I love getting long ones. I wasn't sure if I was doing ok with the Quidditch talk, so that was reassuring. And I'm glad you like Kin and Matthew! D

**Steelo, PInk SuCKs, Tracey** (hee hee, your review was amusing), **Tawnyfawn** (I happen to know that you do not think James sucks at all wink wink), **CrazzyD'**, **just another harry potter fan, SweetSouthernGal** (I try to make each fic completely different form the others, that's why I hate sequels so much P glad you like it!), **Jen-bob-ohio, Sweet Sarcasm **('ello, 'ello! Glad you like it, and sorry you got mixed up with Kin's gender D he, he, maybe I should have made it a mystery like Blaise Zabini…)

**And of course, the other people who I know I've forgotten! Sorry! **

**smiles **

**JB**


	4. Negotiations

Disclaimer: everything belongs to JK Rowling, except for characters and events unrecognizable as being part of the Harry Potter series.

A/N:hey guys! here's chapter four, ready to read. its still short, as are allmy chapters D butstill, at least i updated, so enjoy! i woudl do individual thankyous, but i'm waaay too lazy. so instead, hugs an d thankyous all around! right...read on:

Chapter Four

Negotiations

In general, James wasn't much of a morning person. He liked sleeping in, eating a hot, cooked breakfast, and then going for a leisurely flight on his broom for an hour or so. He did not like waking up early under any circumstances, least of all for a Saturday morning detention, because he had played a prank on Martha Andrews in Charms on Friday.

Groaning, James slumped forwards in his chair, letting his head rest against the table in front of him. He was in the Charms classroom, it was only just light outside, and he had the lovely prospect of two hours morning detention to get through.

Next to him, Sirius was writing madly on a scrap of parchment, hunched over in concentration, dressed hastily in a dark jacket thrown over jeans and a t-shirt. James, on the other hand, was rugged up, being a little sensitive to cold. He and Remus alike were dressed in warm jumpers and jeans, Moony even sporting a scarf.

Peter had fallen asleep on his desk, dressed in his pajamas with a jacket over the top.

You might wonder just what the Marauders had done to land them all in detention. Well, to be fair, it was really only James and Sirius who had transformed Martha Hopkins's books and bag into snakes and frogs. But Peter had caused some of the frogs to explode when he attempted to reverse the spell, and Remus had stood by not doing anything at all, so Flitwick had punished them all equally.

James glanced at his best friend irritably. He had no right to be so active and alert at only…eight o'clock in the morning.

"What the hell are you doing?" he muttered, rubbing his eyes wearily.

"Working on the Map," Sirius said, without looking up. "I think I might have found another way into the third corridor."

Remus was staring out the window silently, with the solemn air of meditation. James sighed. He was bored, he was tired, and he _really_ wanted food. Sure, he had already had breakfast (Flitwick had gotten the house elves to prepare the four misshapen boy's some breakfast a little earlier than the other students to allow for their detention), he was still a growing teenager, and needed his sustenance.

On the table before him was a piece of parchment, upon which he was supposed to be writing a letter apologizing to Martha for their so-called 'tasteless' joke. James knew that he probably should apologize to the socially challenged girl, but he really could not muster up any interest in the task at that point.

Detention did not improve much more by the time an hour had passed. It was almost nine o'clock, and the sounds of activity were beginning to penetrate through the door. Flitwick had not budged from his seat where he was busy marking essays. Sirius was still busily writing on the Map, and Peter was still fast asleep in his chair. Remus was leaning back in his chair, his eyes closed, and an expression of weary calm on his face. The tall boy was often exhausted, although none but his friends knew why.

Just as James was about to rest his head back on the table and fall asleep, the door opened with a bang, causing Peter to awake with a start, and everyone to spin around.

Lily Evans stood in the doorway, looking slightly flustered at the attention she was receiving, but at the same time, extremely determined. Flitwick was offering her a rather puzzled glance. She was his star student, so he had no idea why she would be arriving at detention.

Without casting the Marauders a single glance, Lily marched up to the Professors table.

"Sorry for the interruption, sir," she murmured, bending down so that she was at the same level as the tiny wizard. "But James has Head Boy duties this morning. Is it possible for him to complete his detention at another time?"

James stared at her in amazement. Who would have thought his angel of mercy would come in the guise of his tormentor?

Flitwick nodded.

"Of course, Miss Evans, of course. Mr Potter, you will complete that letter for homework, understood?" he squeaked.

James nodded, and followed Lily out of the room, shrugging at his friends questioning looks. As far as he was concerned, he had no Head Boy duties that day. Still, anything was better than detention. Right?

Lily silently fumed as she led James out of the classroom. Typical of Potter to forget their arrangements, and then land himself in detention. She had felt like such an idiot, marching in there to drag him out. She hated the fact that she had to do things like that for him.

She brooded all the way to the Head Common rooms, where their work awaited them. Every fortnight, Lily and James were required to write a student report for Dumbledore, covering anything from recent activities, to general comments about behavior, and the school. Lily was very diligent about writing these up. James, on the other hand, had…issues. He really didn't care what was going on in the school, and cared even less about his fellow students. Lily couldn't understand why he was picked for Head Boy.

By the time they reached the common room, James was over feeling grateful towards the redhead, and was now just as angry as she was. It wasn't as if he had asked her to come save him from detention. And how the hell was he supposed to know they had Head duties to do? It's not like she had told him. And even if she had, its not like he would have listened.

They entered the room silently, and sat down opposite each other, neither looking up. Lily immediately began to shuffle papers around, dragging a roll of parchment in front of her, and scratching something onto it with a quill.

James watched her, his face cloudy, a slightly irritated quirk to his mouth.

"Why am I even here, if you're going to do all the work?" he finally said, teeth clenched.

Lily looked up, her eyes glinting dangerously.

"If you were even half worthy as Head Boy, you would know that while I write the student activities report, you should be working on the general comments," she stated.

"Well, I don't know any general comments," James muttered. "Aren't we meant to work together?"

Lily snorted.

"Yeah, coz that would work."

"Why not?" James said hotly, not because he thought it would, but because he always felt the need to rise to the argument.

"Because, look at us now!" Lily said, exasperated. "We can't even converse without arguing. As if we could 'work' together!"

"What about the deal? You know, I work, and you don't stuff up in Quidditch…" he said.

"Well, I guess it won't work."

"So, you're going to stuff up in Quidditch?" James asked, alarmed.

Lily rolled her eyes.

"No, I don't think its worth it. You're obviously never going to work, so I might as well get over it."

"Oh…" James frowned. Suddenly, he was feeling a little guilty. Lily could have ruined his entire life, but instead she had given up. Was he really that hopeless?

He glanced at her. She was still writing, but her face was a little more drawn, her lips pursed almost sadly. He guessed it was a little unfair, how she did so much work, and he got half of the credit. Maybe he should try a little harder.

"Um…Evans?" he ventured. She didn't looked up. "Lily?"

She sighed, and raised her eyes.

"Yes?"

"I'll do it. The report, I mean. I'll do the student report, and you can do the general comments," James offered. The report was definitely more work, and required more effort. James figured it was an all right trade.

Lily stared at him, a little suspiciously.

"What's the catch?" she asked. She knew the trade would be good for her, but the thought of James doing something nice was a little too alien.

James rolled his eyes.

"I'm trying to be nice. It's a once in a lifetime opportunity."

Lily raised an eyebrow, then nodded, and managed a small smile.

"Sorry. And, uh, thanks…"

"That's fine. But, uh, could you look over it for me?" James asked, hopefully. There was no way he was handing it in until she read it through. Knowing him, he'd write down the wrong stuff and then get in trouble.

Lily looked at him, and then smiled. A proper smile, this time, one that lit up the glints in her eyes. It dazzled James for a moment.

"Sure," she said. Then, shaking her head a little, she passed him the parchment, and began afresh.

James frowned to himself. Had they just had a civil conversation? Alone? Did she just…_smile _at him? Was that a flying pig he saw?

There was change in the air.

A/N: ok, ok, crappy ending, I know D still, I wanted to get this out before the end of the weekend, so here it is. I hope you liked it, and while we're here, I have a question.

For those of you who have read my other fics, what was your favorite? Changing Rooms, Lets Play families, Love is a Batch of Choc-Chip Cookies, or this one? I'm just curious, you don't have to say!

Review!

JB


	5. conflict?

Disclaimer: everything belongs to JK Rowling, except for characters and events unrecognizable as being part of the Harry Potter series.

A/N: hey guys! sorry it took me so long to update, I'm up to my ears in school work! I promise I'll update more quickly from now on. And I have to admit, I had a bit of writers lock, because I had no idea what to write about the game in this chapter…you'll see what I mean P

Anyway, thanx for all the LOVELY reviews, and enjoy this chapter!

Chapter Five

The Game

"I am going to _kill_ him!" Lily shrieked, storming into the common room on Saturday. "Where is he!"

The common room was mostly empty, as most of the students were outside enjoying the sun. There was a group of first years playing chess in one corner, and opposite them, lounging in a chair was Sirius Black.

"I'm assuming you mean James," he remarked, lifting a hand to lazily sweep his long hair out of his eyes.

"Duh, I mean James. Where is he?" Lily snapped.

Lily didn't actually dislike Sirius, Remus or Peter. In fact, she was mostly indifferent to them; occasionally, however, her hatred for James spilled over onto then. Now was one of those occasions.

"Not here," Sirius said. He yawned and then grinned at her. "You seem kind of hot for him."

Lily glared at him but didn't deem the remark to be worthy of a reply.

"I'll just have to find him myself then," she muttered, turning to go.

Sirius, sensing and explosion to come, sat up hastily.

"Is that really necessary?" he asked, edging out of his seat to stand in front of Lily, blocking her off from the portrait hole. "Maybe you should talk to me. You know, release all your emotions and that."

Lily stared at him.

Sirius, anxious to save his friend form becoming a few splatters on the ceiling, began to babble.

"Um, you, uh, look like you have a lot of pent up anger," he said, brushing his hair off his forehead again. "You need to let it all go."

Lily rolled her eyes.

"Let me put this simply for you, Black," she stated evenly. "If you don't move out of my way, you will suffer from the same fate that awaits Potter."

Sirius visibly gulped. He regarded her warily for a moment, and then stepped smartly to the side. Lily stormed past him, hair swinging wildly behind her.

"Don't let me keep you," Sirius called nervously after her. "Do you need any help? I'll help you!"

SSSS

James was sitting calmly in the library, slowly and patiently drawing up Quidditch strategies, completely unaware of the horror that was about to befall him.

The horror that marched up in the guise of Lily Evans.

She slammed her hands down hard on the table in front of James, causing him to jump in shock. He looked up, his gaze instantly captured by extremely fiery green eyes. Now, although he would never admit this to anyone, James found Lily's eyes to be quite hot. Extremely hot, actually. Often when he was 'glaring' at Lily, he was actually just getting a load of her eyes. He found it hard to understand how they could be so deep and yet so bright. Still, even James had the sense to be scared when she glared at him like that. When Lily's eyes went that shade a little past midnight, she was definitely pissed off. Like right now.

"Hi," he said weakly. Await the explosion, he reminded himself. There was no point even launching the defense until she had let off a few canons.

"Where the hell is the report, Potter!" Lily demanded, keeping her voice just barely beneath a yell. Hey, even Lily had respect for Library policies.

"What report?" James asked stupidly.

"What report indeed," Lily muttered. "The report, moron, that you said you would write. Our monthly report that was due last Friday, and, oh, check the calendar- what day is it now? _Tuesday!_ You're a full four days late! Dumbledore is asking _me_ for the report, which makes me wonder just who the Head Boy is. Because I swear I fell like I'm doing work for two, and it i_sn't fair!_"

James opened his mouth to speak, but Lily instantly cut him off.

"We had a deal, Potter! There's a game next week, and trust me, I wouldn't mind stuffing it up if it meant you could feel even _slightly_ like I fell right now- like a failure! I don't hand things in late, Potter, you know that. This is the biggest lapse I've ever had!"

"Lily!" James finally exploded, cutting her off just before she launched another tirade.

She stopped and glared at him, arms crossed angrily.

"I wrote the report," James stated, and then, just as Lily opened her mouth, "I did! I forgot to hand it in is all. And I know, there's no excuse for that, and you deserve to be angry, but I've been really busy. I've been trying to get our strategy sorted for the game next week. I'll go hand the report in right now, ok?"

Lily opened her mouth, and then shut it, sighing, she pulled out the chair opposite James and slid into it. James's eyes widened, a little startled at this move.

"Fine," she said. "Make sure it's in before tonight."

"I will," James said cautiously. Lily looked weary now, and James could tell that she had evidently not been getting much sleep. He blamed himself for that. With the upcoming game against Hufflepuff, there had been Quidditch practice every second night. That, coupled with the extreme amounts of work the seventh years had been receiving meant that Lily had hardly slept at all for that last two weeks.

"So. What's our strategy?" Lily asked tentatively. Contrary to popular belief, Lily didn't like fighting with James. It was just one more stress to add to the ever growing pile for her. It was simply that circumstance sometimes (always), required a bit of a skirmish.

James pushed his diagram across the table to her. It had on it a rather good sketch of the pitch, with red brooms for the Gryffindor players, and black (because he didn't have yellow) brooms for the Hufflepuff players. His strategy basically was to focus on attack, because the Hufflepuff attack was fairly weak, and to have the three chasers aiming for the hoops while the Beaters harried the keeper continuously. Lily really wouldn't have much to do.

"What do you think?" James asked, watching the redhead purse her lips as she scanned the diagram.

"It's a good pan, but you've missed something," she said, pushing the plan back to him.

James looked at her. Lily looked at James. Silence.

"Well? Are you going to tell me what I missed?" James finally said, irritated.

Lily grinned.

"Seeing as how you asked so nicely," she said dryly. "You've forgotten that Ashen, their Seeker, is amazing, _and_ he has a new Meteor 300 broomstick. You'll want at least one Beater focusing on him. Also, their attack might be crap, but their defense is strong. You're going to have to account for their Chasers. Try to disable them first with some wild swings, and some feints. You need to keep their entire team completely confused as to what we're doing, so that they'll keep doing the wrong thing."

She stopped and looked up from where she had been scribbling arrows and adding bits onto the diagram to see James staring at her with open mouth.

"What?" she asked, in confusion. She tucked a bit of hair behind her ear nervously.

"Why didn't you try for the team before?" James asked, regaining his voice.

"Didn't think I'd be any good. Besides, I'm more of a book-and-apple kind of girl, not a broomstick-and-quaffle- type, if you get what I mean." Lily said, shrugging.

"But your strategies are awesome," James said. "That-that was great! You picked up on more than I did, and I'm the Captain!"

"So?" Lily said, raising an eyebrow.

"So? So!" James said. Now he was beginning to get mildly irritated. Who knew how many games they could have won if only Lily had been on the team? "So you're talents are wasted on books! You should try dedicating yourself to the team more!"

"Hey, not everyone likes sports. I might be good at Quidditch, but its not as if it's my life or anything."

"Well, it should be. You should offer your talents where they're needed," James said, with an air of finality.

Lily stared at him incredulously.

"Excuse me, Potter, but I think I can decide where I should put my talents," she said, her voice teetering on the edge of anger.

"Well, you obviously got it wrong thus far," James said, not realizing that he was falling straight into another trap. "I mean, you're obviously not going to get anywhere with _potions_."

"You know what, Potter?" Lily said, standing up suddenly. "You can take your strategies and stupid opinions and shove it! I can live my own life, thank you."

With that she stormed out of the library. If there was one thing Lily hated, it was being told what to do.

James stared after her in consternation. What had he done now?

SSSSS

Kin was rather bored. Actually, it was difficult to tell when Kin was bored, because he always looked bored. He was a man of few emotions.

Matthew, on the other hand, was a man of _many_ emotions. He was like a ball of boundless energy, bouncing off the walls all the time. Kin, who was muggle-born, hoped that Matthew never took drugs. If he was like this when he was sober, imagine what he could be like if he was stoned.

Both unlikely friends were in the Great Hall, Matthew sketching in a large notepad, and Kin leaning forward with his head resting on the table, appearing to be asleep. A jug of pumpkin juice sat nearby, with two half full glasses near the lazy seventh years.

After a while, Kin sat up with a sigh and a yawn.

"I'm bored," he announced.

"Surprise, surprise," Matthew retorted. He was sketching furiously now, his hand almost a blur as it flew across the pages in front of him.

"I'm going outside," Kin said, rolling his eyes at his friends comment. "Quidditch practice is on. Might see how Lily's doing."

"Hmm," Matthew said. Kin frowned. Matthew was hardly ever responsive when he was drawing- Kin should have been used to it. But still, it was annoying. Rather like role reversal.

Sighing again, Kin stood up and trudged outside. His blond hair was hanging over his eyes, obscuring his vision, and in a blue t-shirt and faded, scruffy jeans, he looked like the epitome of a ragged teenager.

The stands were virtually empty. Out of habit, Kin made his way to the Gryffindor stands. It was only when he got closer that he noticed another figure sitting there, reading a book and showing no interest in what happening on the Pitch. Remus Lupin.

If Kin Matthew and Lily were ever lined up against the Marauders, definite similarities would be observed. Matthew was just like Sirius; Kin and Remus were one of a kind; and Lily was like…well, James. Unfortunately, Lily had no friends like Peter, so perfect symmetry was unachievable.

Still, Kin could deal with Remus. He wasn't very sociable, but Remus was one person who he was ok with.

Climbing up to the same row as his pale companion, Kin slid into the seat next to him. Remus glanced up, offered him a brief smile, which Kin returned, and then turned back to his book.

Kin leaned back, his hands crossed behind his neck, and observed the game.

Neither of the boys said a word. After a while, Remus set his book down and leaned back, his posture mimicking Kin's. Still they remained silent.

Kin grinned to himself, enjoying the peace. Now this was the sort of companionship he could deal with. Someone who was there but not _there._

Looking up, though, he noticed that things were not quite so peaceful on the pitch. Form what he could see, James as yelling at lily, who was pretending not to hear, and was simply circling lazily around the hoops.

As Kin watched, James sped up to Lily, and stopped right in front of her. He grabbed hold of her broom handle, keeping her securely in front of him, and the proceeded to continue yelling at her. Lily, it seemed, was not going to take this, and she jerked away from him, and ended up flying straight back down to the ground, getting off her broom and storming away to the change rooms. James, shaking his head, turned back to the rest of the team.

Kin stood up. It was time to do what a good friend would do, and find Lily. She would probably want to rant abut Potter for a while.

"Seeya," he said to Remus.

"Until we meet again," Remus said, smiling mildly.

Lily was still fuming. It was as if when ever she and Potter took a step forward by being nice to each other, one of them suddenly decided to take several vast leaps back. There she was, helping him out with his strategy, making sure that they wont he game, when he went all suspicious on her.

'I can't believe he thought I'd try to sabotage the game!" Lily half-yelled, causing Kin to sigh. He hated loud noises.

"Well, you did threaten to ruin his life," he pointed out. "Can you blame the guy for not taking chances?"

"Yes," Lily said hotly. She brushed sweaty hair out of her eyes, and swept it away form her neck. She was still in her Quidditch gear, and Kin was carrying her broom. They were walking around the pitch so Lily could clam down, the rest of the team having already gone inside.

Kin half-smiled.

"You know, considering how much you two seem to hate each other, you both sure care a lot when the other is mad at you," he said.

Lily spun to face him, eyes wide in incredulity.

"What the hell is that meant to mean?" she demanded, frowning. "I don't care what James thinks!"

Kin smiled mysteriously, but said no more. They were teenagers- they got their feelings muddled all the time. He _could_ tell Lily that eh suspected she and James had a thing for each other, but somehow he knew it would be pointless. She would deny it, and then get mad and storm off.

Better for them to realize it themselves.

A/N: omg, that took forever! Sorry, but its here now. I had intended to include the Quidditch game in this chapter, but I guess I'll put it into the next one after all.

Also, if there are any of you guys interested in reading my new original story, I'd really appreciate if you would. If you want to, let me know your email address, and I'll email you the first chapter- I really want some feedback D

Apart from that, review, ok?

Thanks!

JB


	6. Butterflies

Disclaimer: everything belongs to JK Rowling, except for characters and events unrecognizable as being part of the Harry Potter series.

A/N: hey there! Sorry for the wait, I'm still having issues writing the game. So here goes, and I hope its ok…

Chapter Six

Butterflies

Lily had butterflies. Not as in the pretty, graceful ones that float through picturesque gardens. These ones were more like moths, beating up a storm in her stomach with their furious wings. As she stood in the Gryffindor changing rooms, waiting for the announcer to call them onto the pitch, Lily cursed the butterflies fiercely and tried to maintain calm.

It was the morning of her first ever Quidditch match, and suddenly, Lily had remembered just how many people attended Hogwarts. Every single one of those students (plus the many teachers) were out there in the stands, waiting to watch her fail miserably.

Shuddering, Lily covered her face with her hands.

The match was against Hufflepuff, and in the back of her mind, Lily knew she didn't really have anything to worry about. She and James had been working hard on strategy all week, and she had been training extra hard as well. Greta, Alice and Maria had played there hardest at training the night before, and Lily had successfully saved at least two out of three of their attempts each time. She was ready for this. She knew it. It was just that it was hard to maintain a cool front with a swarm of butterflies beating up a frenzy in her stomach, and her knees trembling like that.

_Be calm,_ she told herself, wiping a sweaty palm down her robe. _Be cool like and ice cube._ Before she could berate herself for lame advice, the commentators voice sounded loud and clear.

"Put your hands together and welcome the Gryffindor team, captained by our very own head Boy James Potter, and what a lien up we have this year!"

"Ok, team. Time to head out. Good luck, all of you, make me proud!" James almost shouted, patting each player on the shoulder as they filed out the door. Lily watched him. He looked nervous, and the dark shadows under his eyes proved her suspicion that he hadn't been sleeping well. For some odd reason, lily cared about this. Over the past few days, she and James had been getting along, with only a few arguments (per day).

"Good luck, Lily," he whispered to her, with a quick smile as she walked past.

And Lily experienced a brief jolt in her veins. Because for once he had called her by her first name without screaming it at her like it was an insult.

"Right," she muttered to herself. "Lets kick some badger butt!"

SSSSSS

James sized up the Hufflepuff team as they stood in lines facing each other, waiting for the whistle. The captain was a slight, slender girl called Abigail Humphrey, and she was known for both her fun personality and shrewd Quidditch tactics. Tiny and blonde, with sparkling blue eyes, Abigail was extremely intelligent and an excellent beater. James had dated her for a while, and they were still good friends.

She winked at him now, and poked her tongue out.

"Ready to get your ass kicked?" she taunted, grinning.

James raised an eyebrow cockily.

"Your legs aren't long enough to reach my ass," he retorted, just as the whistle blew.

Abigail threw her head back in laughter as she launched into the air.

James grinned, but at the same time, his eyes narrowed.

"Right," he said to himself. "Its show time."

SSSSS

"Aaaaand there off!" the commentator, a tiny black Ravenclaw girl, Annette Lee screamed into the magical microphone. For her lack of stature, she had an extremely penetrating voice, that reached every end of the stadium.

"And Hufflepuff have the quaffle, with Gregory aiming for a goal-oh, quick pass there to Andrews, but intercepted by Gryffindor Chaser, Maria Steele, and ladies and gentlemen, look at her go! She's on FIRE! Not literally, of course but-Omigod she scores! Hufflepuff Chaser Claude just not fats enough!"

And so it went on. From the stands, Remus and Sirius watched, one eye on the quaffle and another on where James was circling above the rest of the game, Hufflepuff Seeker, Ashen close on his tail.

"Geez, Ashen isn't letting James go, is he?" Sirius muttered, watching as James attempted to turn around only to run into Ashen, a tall blonde haired sixth-year. "Stickier than…sticky stuff."

Remus half smiled, stretching back in his chair.

"I do believe this will be a long game, gentleman. Might as well relax," he advised.

"And how do you figure that?" Peter piped up, turning to look at them, his face covered in a thin sheet of sweat.

"James won't be able to search for the snitch properly until Ashen leaves him alone. And I doubt that's going to happen anytime soon," the taller boy explained.

"Oh," Peter said. He looked down. Then-"Do you reckon it'll be over in time for lunch?"

SSSSSS

Lily swooped in between the hoops lazily. She was actually a little bored. The quaffle hadn't come anywhere near her for most of the game. Hufflepuffs chasers were really no match for Maria, Alice and Gretel.

She glanced up, shielding her eyes with her hand. James was still circling, looking for the snitch, but to little avail. She sighed. It was going to be a long game.

"And Griffindor leads the game at 60, with Hufflepuff lagging behind with only 20 points. Griffindor in possession, no surprises there. Potter and Ashen are both circling, rather like vultures actually, oh, Alice Nut of Griffindor shoots and scores, bringing them up to 70. Hufflepuff had better hope that Ashen gets the snitch before Potter. Although we all know how unlikely that is, considering Potter's history."

Lily hovered in front of the middle goal. It was strange being on the same side as James. She desperately wanted to win this game.

_Come on, James, _she willed silently. _Get that snitch!_

SSSSSSSS

Half an hour into the game, and things hadn't changed much. Griffindor were in the lead with 120 points to Hufflepuffs 30. No matter how hard Hufflepuff tried, their attack wasn't strong enough to compete with Griffindors. And when they did manage to get to the goals, Lily stopped most of their attempts short. The Chasers were becoming more and more frustrated, and so was James, as he circled around the pitch. He knew they could win this, he just had to find the snitch before Ashen, but at the rate that the younger seeker was following him, it would be difficult to keep him fooled.

James swore, and spun around suddenly. It was time to get down and dirty. He began ducking and weaving, flying straight into the middle of the game, almost knocking into a Hufflepuff chaser, and narrowly missing a bludger.

He nodded to Adrian, one of the Griffindor beaters, and with a returning grin, Adrian swung a bludger at him. James swerved narrowly out of its way, and heard a satisfying thunk as it hit Ashen's broom instead, sending him spinning of course.

James sped ahead his heart leaping as he suddenly caught sight of something small and gold flitting around near the goal posts ahead, just next to Lily. He leaned down low over his broom stick, urging it forward, just a little bit further, just one extra burst if speed and…. he had it! Just as he sped past a confused Lily James' fingers wrapped around the fluttering ball, and he let out a whoop of delight.

Lily suddenly realized what was happening, and she flung herself at him, hugging him fiercely, their brooms tangling, her legs half on his broom. And this was how they sunk to the ground, the rest of the Griffindor team speeding towards them as Lee announced that Griffindor had won the match, 270-30.

It was only when they finally reached the ground that Lily became aware of the fact that she was _hugging_ James Potter. With a startled squeak, she dropped her arms from around his neck and stepped back, almost tripping over her broom.

"Uh, um," she stuttered, her face turning red.

James grinned slyly.

"Good game, Evans," he said, his eyes twinkling a little too knowingly.

"Uh, same to you, Potter," Lily managed, before she was suddenly engulfed in another hug as the rest of the team caught up to them.

They had won. She had hugged James. Was life ever going to be the same again?

SSSSSS

A/N: review? Tell me if u hated it, the end is crap, but I was quite happy with the rest…

JB


	7. First Year Fun

A/N: hey everyone! Thanx for all the awesome reviews, they really made me feel better about this fic. I'm all ready to go now, and I have the next couple of chapters planned, so I'll try to update more quickly. But, school just started again, and I only have six weeks of assessment, so I'm going to have heaps of assignments (teachers are so cruel). So sorry if it slows down (even more) now, but I'll be pretty busy. )

Just a note to everyone, this fic **does not follow canon!** A lot of people have been confused about why James hates Lily when in the fifth book, JKR said he loved her and stuff. Well, basically, I like that, but I'm a huge fan of love/hate relationships (probably because that's the only type of relationship I'll ever have )) and so I decided to ignore canon and be a little creative with this fic. My other fics don't follow canon either.

Hope you enjoy this one.

Chapter Seven

First Year Fun

"You hugged him."

"Yes," Lily nodded, dropping her head into her hands and willing the world away.

Matthew stared at her with open mouth.

"Are you serious?" he asked.

They were sitting at the breakfast table on Monday morning, the day after the game, and Lily was feeling pretty mortified over the whole hugging triangle with her, James, and the broomstick. She spent six years trying to ignore the guy and then she decides to HUG him over a QUIDDITCH match. Who does that?

"You hugged James Potter?' Matthew asked again, slowly and deliberately. Lily nodded. "So what?"

She glared at him.

"'So what?' What do you mean, 'so what'?" she snapped rather incredulously.

"I mean, so what if you hugged him? That's what people do occasionally. It's not the end of the world. I think you over analyze," he continued, completely immune to her disbelief.

Lily sighed, and reminded herself to get some girlfriends. Maybe she would talk to Gretel and Maria. They were both in seventh year, so they shared a dorm with her. Alice was in sixth year, however. Lily was quite good friends with Sasha Iverson as well, another seventh year girl who was her roommate. But Sasha was no where to be seen, and Lily was stuck with her best friends, who, for all their charisma, had no idea how to do girl talk.

"Forget it," she muttered to Matthew. "I mean, you're probably right. So what if I hugged Potter? He probably doesn't even remember it. And it totally wasn't a big deal. Was it?"

Lily looked up to see Matthew shaking his head and mouthing something. Frowning in suspicion, she turned around slowly…to see James Potter staring at her, looking mildly alarmed.

Lily groaned and let her head sink back into her hands. Typical. He just had to be standing right behind her when she was obsessing about _hugging_ him.

James cleared his throat awkwardly.

"Uh, hi," he greeted the back of her head.

Lily, in a very 'Lilyish' way, realized that there was only one way to deal with the embarrassment.

"What, Potter?" she snapped, rolling her eyes in an act of impatience.

James, reacting in the way he always did when he and Lily were interacting, glared at her, and snapped back.

"Leave your manners in bed, Evans?" he snarled. "Or were you born like that?"

"No Potter, this side of me only seems to appear when you're around. Could be the shroud of all things evil you carry around with you infecting my mind," Lily retorted, wincing at the rather lengthy (and obscure) call.

"Let's just get to the point, shall we? I'd rather not spend too much time around you," James said, his eyes darkening slightly, as they always did when he was angry. "Do we have a session with the first years tonight?"

"Yes." Lily stated, and then turned her back on him.

James counted to three slowly, and took a deep breath. God, she was infuriating.

"When, and where," he said through gritted teeth.

"Six o'clock, library. Art today."

"Fine," James spat and he strode away angrily.

Lily rolled her eyes, even though her heart was going crazy, beating frantically against her ribcage. Talking to James seemed to be having a strange effect on her these days. Geez. One day she was hugging him, the next she was biting his head off. She shuddered and shook her head suddenly to clear her thoughts. Right. She would just have to be really professional today while they were working with the first years. Act like she didn't care. How hard could it be?

Sasha Iverson had seen Lily angry at James on many an occasion; she could name at least twenty off the top of her head. Like the time he had put a frog in their room that wouldn't stop croaking. Or the time when he had turned her head into a chin length rainbow do that had causes her to scream for about an hour when she saw her reflection. But never had Sasha seen Lily actually _nervous_ about seeing James Potter.

She watched as her red-head friend anxiously flipped through her Head Girl notebook for the tenth time. Lily then stood up from where she had been sitting in an armchair in the common room, and began to pace nervously, all the while reading a page in her notebook.

"Art…I think we have the paint and brushes…what about impasto? Nobody will want that, right?...nah…"

Sasha knew Lily well enough to realise that whatever she was anxious about, it certainly wasn't whether they had impasto for the first years or not. Lily often distracted herself when she was nervous or excited about something, and this was evidently one of those times.

"Lils. Relax. He'll be here in a moment," she said, trying to calm her friend down. Sasha brushed her brown hair away form her face, mildly peeved at the fact that she had cut her fringe too short and it now hung in her eyes constantly. This was even more irritating, because the one thing Sasha liked about her looks was her hazel eyes, and now they were barely visible.

"As if I care," Lily muttered, but a slight tremor in her voice betrayed her nonchalant attitude.

Sasha personally suspected that Lily had a thing for James, but it wasn't likely she would ever admit it. Seriously, though, she thought to herself, who didn't have a thing for Potter? He was hot stuff….and he had just walked into the room, red faced and looking as anxious as Lily.

"Oh." He said, stopping as he saw the fiery head girl in front of him. "I thought we were meeting at the library…?"

Lily's head snapped up to stare at him in shock. She hadn't noticed him arrive.

"Potter! Uh, yeah. Well, someone had to bring the first years up."

James' face grew dark.

"Are you implying that I don't pull my weight?" he started, but Lily rolled her eyes and pushed past him.

"Get over it," she muttered, as she approached the first years and began to lead them out of the room. James followed, glowering darkly.

Sasha rolled her eyes as they left. Those two were so transparent. They kept up this façade of hating each other, but their face slit up instantly when they spotted each other.

She wondered how they could possibly think that the other hated them when their feelings were so obvious.

What was that saying again? Oh yeah. Love is blind.

Lily was trying her very best to stay mad at James. He was a pain in the ass, and he deserved no sympathy or kindness from her. But when he was being all nice with the kids and swinging the tiny first year boys over his shoulder while they giggled like crazy…well, it was hard to be angry at that. Although it did kind of piss her off that he would probably make a good father too. Great. Was there anything he couldn't do?

He must have noticed her glaring, because-

"Can I help you, Evans?" he asked icily, although the coldness didn't reach his eyes.

"What? Oh. No." Lily stuttered, felling like a moron, but blushing all the same.

James raised an eyebrow at the back of her head, but didn't say anything. He had accepted with only minor difficulty that Lily was a strange, strange girl. He turned away, and continued chatting with a tiny first year, Joseph Andrews, who was so scrawny, even his glasses wobbled on his nose.

James would never admit it, but he actually kind of liked the idea of having children, particularly a son. He loved the thought of being like a role model, teaching someone everything he knew, calling them his own. He lifted his eyes to watch as Lily directed the kids into the library, laughing with a girl and then placing her hand on a boy's shoulder to guide him through the door, following him in.

James scowled. Typical. She just had to be good with children too. Was there anything she wasn't good at? It annoyed him that Lily would make the ideal wife. She was smart, pretty, good with kids and interesting to be around.

James shook his head, suddenly, realizing what he had just thought. Lily, a good wife? What the hell was wrong with him?

Who would have thought that teaching first years art would be such a challenge? Not only were they incapable of painting without turning themselves into moving pieces of contemporary art, but they also never wanted to express themselves individually. Lily was beginning to think that they needed step-by-step, written instructions for every little thing.

One corner of the library had been turned into an art studio, with paper covering the tables, and a portable sink conjured into a corner for them to wash up in.

"Lily?" Hayden, a tiny girl with brown hair and big green eyes tugged at her sleeve. "How do I wash my paintbrush?"

Lily sighed.

"Just run it under the tap and use your fingers to get the paint out," she said tiredly. As Hayden nodded vigorously and wandered away to the sink, Lily turned and looked for James.

He was sitting in the corner of the area, alone with a sketchbook. She glanced over at him to find him staring at her. Their eyes caught, and for some reason, Lily felt a strange jolt in the vicinity of her stomach. Why did she keep getting those around James?

James, to her pleasure, began to blush, and so, suppressing a grin, she made her way over to him.

"We should probably start packing up soon," she said, while discreetly trying to catch a glimpse of his sketchpad. What she saw was startling. "Hey! Is that…me?"

James snatched the book away, and shut it hastily.

"What? No. as if," he said, rather unconvincingly.

"Potter," Lily said, her eyes narrowing dangerously. "Give me a look."

"No," James said, standing up and backing away warily. "I have a right to my privacy."

"James, I think we have trust issues," Lily said, pulling out a line that James had already used on her several times that term, just to annoy her. "I need to know that you trust me."

James snorted. "Whatever."

He stalked away, clutching the sketchbook tightly, and started helping the first years pack up.

Lily watched him go, frowning in annoyance. She was sure that that was a sketch of her she had seen, and it had been a damn good one at that.

"You can't hold on to that book forever, Potter," she muttered under her breath.

The first years were a little better at the cleaning than they were at the actually art bit, but it still took them well over and hour to get everything cleared. Finally, they escorted the kids back to their houses, and both head Boy and Girl headed back to their own common room.

James slumped into a couch and shut his eyes, groaning at the way his back muscles tightened painfully. Lily sat down as well, only she watched as he placed his sketchbook down on the table in front of him so he could rub his eyes.

"Well," he said, his voice muffled slightly. "I think I'll go to bed."

"Ok," Lily said, hoping against hope that he'd forget his book when eh left. "Good night."

"Night," James mumbled as he staggered to his feet and then away to the dorms, forgetting his book completely.

Lily could hardly contain her excitement. She was rather vindictively happy, actually. The incredible James Potter had a crud memory.

Snatching the book up, she greedily turned the pages to the most recent entry, and…

Lily gasped. It was beautiful. It was her, alright, but her in a way she had never seen before. The girl's face was turned slightly away, hair fell into her eyes, and her lips were parted slightly. A tiny smile seemed to hide at the corner of her mouth, but her eyes were serious. They were all Lily's features, but more pronounced and delicate.

James was an amazing artist, and somehow he had managed to make Lily look more beautiful than she could ever hope to be.

A smile suddenly danced across Lily's face. Squealing in sudden delight, she clutched the book to her chest and grinned.

And from the stairwell to the boy's dormitory, James Potter smiled a whimsical smile, and then retreated back to his room.

A/N: aw, how cute. Well, I really wanted to get that out by the end of this week, so the end might be a little rushed.

Review, please?

Thanks again to everyone who reviewed )

-Jaizar


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